


Fall Into You

by magari



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Band, Babysitter Harry, Babysitting, F/M, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Swearing, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 17:14:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7323844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magari/pseuds/magari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scarlett Thomas is a financial analyst with a two year old child and a drug and alcohol abusing husband and is in need of a full-time babysitter. A friend of hers recommends Harry Styles, a Brooklyn-based babysitter from London. A relationship blooms between the two in the midst of divorcing her husband and raising her child.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Here is just a babysitter!Harry thing I've been thinking about for a lil bit. Narry are best friends, one direction doesn't exist...

_“I wouldn’t have to snort coke all the time if you were such a nag!”_

_“Oh, it’s my fault. Of course it is. You blame everything on me.”_

_“Only where blame is deserved, babe.”_

_I can’t put up with this anymore. My husband is a psychopath._

 

I met Darren Harris when I was just a freshman at NYU. Studying to become a financial analyst, he swept me off my feet. I was 20 when he was 22, and never did I imagine my life would become what it is now. He was the perfect gentleman; it was what drew me in, of course. I’d never been attracted to cocky assholes, which my school seemed to be full of. They were inescapable. I was sure I wouldn’t meet someone who could reach the bar I constantly held.

Throughout high school, I wasn’t in many relationships. I was picky about who I set my sights on, but mainly I just wanted someone who is warm and kind. I’m used to doing things on my own; that is how I was raised to be. In order to be successful, you have to be willing to work hard and put in effort. With hard work automatically came the ability to be independent. My father is the CEO of the NY based company Willoware, and he ensured that I learn to be successful and independent.

In the library my eyes met black-haired and blue-eyed Darren Harris. His nose was in a book about accounting, and as I swung the door open his blue eyes glanced in the direction of mine. He smiled at me for some reason, and I got a glimpse of a perfect smile. He had a five o’clock shadow and tan skin, and he was dressed in a black button down shirt and cuffed dark blue jeans. On his feet were Oxford-looking shoes and I honestly do not know why I paid so much attention – probably because to me he was an absolute dreamboat. Finally, I found someone who met my expectations, at least physically.

_“Now I’m cheating on you? I guess you learn something new every day.”_

_“You don’t have to be a fucking smartass, Scarlett.”_

_“You’re accusing me of cheating on you because you’re fucked out of your mind right now. Am I supposed to just believe what you’re saying?”_

_“When a whore like you sleeps around, it’s hard not to believe.”_

 

            I was 21 years old when I found out I was pregnant with Darren’s child. It certainly was a surprise that I did not see coming, but pleasant nonetheless. A baby could only bring happiness into my life. Having Julia was a blessing; she is my world. A few months after my 22nd birthday, Darren got down onto one knee and proposed to me. I couldn’t believe that for one I already had a kid, but also that someone wanted to spend the rest of their life with me. While always being very focused on my future, it came to mind that I might have missed out on other aspects of life. It took Julia and Darren to realize that I’ve always wanted my fairytale.

            But I still don’t think I’ve gotten it yet.


	2. I

Scarlett POV

The summer air warmed my bones. It was a long winter. I never imagined my life would spoil like it has, and it leaves me wondering what I had done so wrong to deserve it. I thank my lucky stars every day that I was blessed with my beautiful daughter Julia, and I try to take the good with the bad. That’s what everyone has to do.

I stepped out of my modern apartment, located in New York City, in a white tank top, blue jeans cuffed above my ankles, and a pair of nude pumps. Dark aviator sunglasses blocked my eyes from the sunlight. It was the 13th of July - six more months until Julia’s third birthday.

To my right was the El Rey Café, and I stopped inside. A host gave me a menu and seated me in one of the white stools against the front counter. I set my brown purse down and immediately pawed through it and retrieved a few loose papers I carelessly stuffed inside – divorce papers. I pushed my sunglasses up through my hair slightly so they rest atop my head.

I’d gotten them drawn up a few weeks ago; I was just a bit scared to actually fill them out. Darren had moved out from the apartment a month ago, but we were not legally separated. Instead, I took the plunge and was going straight for divorce. Who wouldn’t? I couldn’t stay married to that monster any longer than I had to.

I glanced over the menu for a few minutes, but I was sure of my order already as I find it hard for me to break routine. The bleach-blonde boy made his way over to me, paper and pen in hand. He looked about my age, with a cheesy smile on his face.

“Hello, Miss, welcome to El Rey! My name is Niall, and I’ll be your server today. Our special today is the burnt radicchio, made with homemade ricotta, hazelnut, lemon, and Aleppo honey. Could I start you off with something to drink?”

I smiled kindly at him. “I’ll just have an ice water with lemon, please.”

“You’ve got it. Would you like some time to look over the menu, or are you set to order?”

“I’m ready,” I said with a smile.

“Alright! What can I get for ya?”

“I’ll have the kale salad, and I’d like to add egg?”

“Not a problem! Is the almond vinaigrette dressing okay?”

“Yes, that’s perfect. Thank you.” I folded up the menu and handed it to the server.

“I’ll put that right in for you, Miss, and have your water coming right out.” He gave me a warm smile as he collected the menu and strolled back into the kitchen.

I instinctually looked back to the front door of the café as I heard the little bells at the top chime. In walked a curly-haired brunette guy, looking about my age as well. He wore black aviator sunglasses and a black button down short sleeved shirt with a pink floral print. He strolled up to the front desk and greeted a brown haired woman, but soon he spotted my server, Niall. Niall came up to my table and set down my water as the brunette guy that just walked in followed him over. I pushed the divorce papers to the side of the table and put my purse over top of them.

“There you are, Miss. Can I get ya – “

“Hey, Niall!”

Niall looked over to the brunette.

“Haz! How ya been? Haven’t seen ya in a bit.” ‘Haz’ reached over and caught Niall in a hug.

I took the lemon from the top of my glass and squeezed it into the water, and then proceeded to push it to the bottom with the straw.

“All good. Keepin’ my head down.”

“Ah. Have you gotten any jobs lately?”

The two were still congregating right by my table, so I took a sip from my water and just pulled out my phone. No new messages.

“Eh, not much. It’s been rather dry.”

I peered at the brunette and saw his arms were scattered with tattoos. My eyes trailed up his shirt which was buttoned rather low and saw two more tattoos sneaking out from under it. A cross necklace hung from his neck.

“It’ll pick up soon probably, right? Maybe you’ll get a regular, ya know? More time, more money?”

The brunette pondered that. “Yeah, I suppose. Well, when do you get off?”

Niall looked around to find a clock presumably, but then his eyes found me. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” He looked to the brunette and then back to me. “Some kind of best friend I have! Is there anything I could get you, Miss?”

I smiled and chuckled lightly. “No thank you, I’m alright.”

“Okay. If you need anything just give me a holler, yeah?” I smiled and nodded as he turned to walk back into the kitchen and motioned for the brunette to follow.

The brunette turned to walk away but at the last second turned back to me. “I’m sorry, love. I should know by now how small my best friend’s attention span is.”

I gazed into his emerald green eyes and felt for a moment as if they were sucking me up and swallowing me whole. My peripheral vision allowed me to see a few moles scattered across his perfectly sculpted face.

“No, it’s okay!” I laughed and looked down at my fingers playing with the straw in my cup. My eyes found their way back to his. My brain was giddy and I couldn’t string together any words to form anything possibly coherent. Instead I just smiled up at this handsome stranger. I noticed as he smiled back that he has the cheekiest dimples that I could get used to seeing.

He looked down at my hands and back up to my eyes.

“Have a nice day.”

And just like that he walked into the back to meet Niall. With only a few words exchanged and an adoring smile, I felt as if my composure had been dented slightly. I absentmindedly fiddled with my wedding ring.

 

+

 

After I had lunch at the café, I headed down to the apartment buildings that were just a few blocks away. A good friend of mine, Anna, was watching over Julia for me while I ran a few errands. I stepped into the apartment building and headed for the elevators. She was on the third floor, and I pressed the third button to direct me there. When it reached the third floor, I walked down the hall for only a moment, as she was the fifth one on the right. I knocked three times.

“Scarlett! Hey! Come on in,” she said as she opened the door for me. She lived in a spacious one bedroom apartment that she shared with her boyfriend, Andy, for the past two years. There were big windows in her living area that broadcasted the city. I could hear faint talking in a room down the hall and quickly picked up Julia’s voice.

“Hey, Anna. Thanks again for watching over her, you really didn’t have to do that for me.”

Anna shook her head. “Not a problem at all. It was just one more thing on your hands and I knew it would help you out just a little.” She smiled gracefully, flipping her auburn hair over her shoulder. “Plus, Julia’s an angel.”

“Yeah, usually,” I joked.

“We were just playing with Barbies in the other room,” Anna stated and led me down the hall. “Oh, I just got some of that Evian water you like. Andy just started liking it so now we keep stocking up on it. There’s some in the fridge if you want.”

I quickly side stepped into the kitchen to grab an Evian water bottle and headed into the guest room Anna and Julia were occupying.

“Mommy!” I heard Julia exclaim. I greeted my little two year old and sat down next to her. “This is Polly, she plays soccer, and this is Daphne. She’s a doctor.” Julia twirled around her Barbie dolls. She picked up two more and introduced me to them. “Oh! And this is Jasmine, she is a teacher, and this is Roxy, she is a singer.” She had a little trouble pronouncing the last two Barbies’ names but I was still proud of her.

“Wow, Jules! Which one is your favorite?”

Julia tilted her head as she thought about the question. “Um…Jasmine! B’cuz she is a teacher and I wanna be a teacher!” My little daughter runs off and we share a laugh.

“She’s growing up so fast,” Anna says.

“She is! It’s crazy, she’s half way to three.” It definitely was crazy. The last two and a half years of my life were nowhere near perfection, but Julia was the closest thing to it.

“So, how are things with Darren? Have you spoken to him?” I instinctively looked down at my wedding ring. It had been a few weeks since I’d heard from him, just about divorce things, thankfully. His drug problem brought out the asshole in him, and I did not want him to be contacting me when it was out.

“Umm, no, not really. Just a few weeks back. I just finished filling out the divorce papers and I need to have them finalized.”

Anna nodded in response. “What happens with Julia?”

I’d only thought about that briefly. “I’m not sure. I’m assuming we’ll probably get split custody.” It angered me to think about how this will affect her in the future, not living with both of her parents. I prayed this decision wouldn’t hurt her too much. Nevertheless, it was the right decision; we had to end our toxic marriage.

“Well, whatever ends up happening I’m sure you’ll be okay. You’re a kickass mom for Jules, you know that. And you’ve got me if you need anything, of course,” she finished with a kind smile. I’d known Anna since junior high school and she’d always been one to help in any way she could. Clearly that had not changed.

I gratefully smiled back at my longtime friend. “I know, I know. Thank you, Anna, for everything.”

Julia popped back into the room and grabbed another Barbie doll and ran back out. Anna and I chuckled at the sight, and it brought my attention to another thing I thought I’d share with her. “I’m going to be getting more hours for work this summer; my boss is really making sure we are putting in 110% for the new projects he introduced.”

“It seems to be the same for me,” Anna replied with a soft laugh. “Although, I am definitely putting some time aside for a much needed vacation for the boyfriend and I. Oh, and back to what you said earlier, are you considering a babysitter for Julia?”

I lightly chewed on my bottom lip. That could be a good idea, as I will not be home as much to watch over Julia. “I hadn’t, but now you’ve got me thinking about it. I don’t know who to trust with my pride and joy.”

“Oh, you’ll meet someone that’ll give you a good feeling.” Anna got up to grab some leftovers to eat when a thought entered her mind. “Hey, I actually know a guy you would like, he’s super with kids. He babysat my sister Daniella’s two kids for a little bit and they loved him.”

I opened my Evian water and took a sip. “How old are they again?”

“Michael’s five and Jenny is three. But, I know Harry has babysat younger and older than that.”

“So how old is this Harry you speak of?” I asked cheekily.

“I’m not totally sure to be honest, Daniella would probably know, but he’s not much older than us I assume. He’s a looker, too,” she added with a wink. I rolled my eyes and took another sip.

“Well, at any rate, take his card. I’ve got a bunch of them around here somewhere.” She scurried along to look for the cards and soon found a small stack at the top of a bookshelf. “It couldn’t hurt to meet with him. You know, see if you like him.”

I nodded slightly and took hold of the card she handed to me. _Harry Styles, 917-659-0740, 1169 Ocean Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11230_ , [**_hstyles@gmail.com_**](mailto:hstyles@gmail.com), _Best hours to contact: M-F 8am-5pm_

I fiddled with the card aimlessly between my fingers before I pulled out my purse and stuffed the card inside. Maybe I would give him a call. I suppose it couldn’t hurt.

“Alright, I’ll think about it.” I pulled my bag onto the table and placed the water bottle inside. “Well, I think I better get going. Jules is probably missing her other toys at home,” I said jokingly. Anna walked into the guest room to collect Julia’s Barbie dolls as I spotted her playing on the living room couch. “C’mon Jules, time to head home with Mommy.”

“Okay!” she exclaims as she stands up from the couch. She runs over to Anna when she sees her coming out with the rest of her dolls and gives her a hug around her legs. “Bye, Anna!”

She bent down to wrap her arms around the two year old. “Bye, sweetie! I hope I’ll see you soon!”

We walked out of the living room heading to her front door. I turned and gave Anna a tight hug and a small kiss on the cheek. “Thanks again.”

“Anytime, you know that. If you need me I’m just a call away.”

Julia grabbed my hand and we stepped out of her apartment. We made our way to the elevator and I let Julia press the button to the bottom floor. After we exited the building, I found it moderately easy to hail a cab for my daughter and I.

The car ride was around twenty minutes, and I handed the cab driver two twenty dollar bills. “Keep the change.”

“Have a nice day,” the scruffy faced man said to us. We hopped out and headed up the driveway and soon we entered the house. I flicked on the TV to create some background noise as it was just the two of us, and Julia ran up to the kitchen counter where she last left her juice bottle. She put her arm up for it but couldn’t quite reach it and turned back at me.

“You want some juice, baby?”

Julia nodded her head enthusiastically.

“What do you say?”

“Please, Mommy?”

I smiled at the manners Darren and I enforced in our daughter’s life. I guess that was one good thing that came out of his parenting, or lack thereof.

I strode over to the refrigerator and pulled out Jules’ favorite V8 juice and poured a small amount into her juice bottle. “There you go, Jules.” She expressed her gratitude and walked into the living room to watch whatever was left on the TV. I took my heels off and walked to the couch and took a seat. I only had a few updates on my phone, and after reading through them I quickly cleared them from the screen. I lazily put my phone back inside my purse but paused when I saw the loose card from earlier in the day. I pulled it out and re-read it. _Harry Styles._

I exhaled the breath I wasn’t aware I was holding and calmed my nerves. Why was I nervous? Shaking my head of those thoughts, I quickly dialed before I could change my mind.

After a few rings, the line picked up and a London accented voice greeted me.

“Hello?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the first chapter - thank you for reading!


End file.
